BleepingComputer.com: Help Setting Up Router.

**Please bear with me as i am totally dumb when it comes to technology**

I have a desktop computer, two laptops and a router. My computer is connected to the Internet through a usb modem.
Two days ago i had both laptops and my computer connected to the Internet. I got a tech guy to set everything up for £30 ($60). Now I think Ive totally messed everything up.
I was trying to connect my ps3 to my router, so i messed around with all the network connections. Now nothing works anymore. Ive followed the manual that came with the router, but nothing works. My computer is now connected to my modem through a usb cable. But when everything was set up two days ago, the guy took the usb cable out and connected everything using ethernet cables.
I had my modem connected to the internet port on my router and my computer connected to one of the lan ports on my router and everything worked perfectly. Now when i make those same connections, nothing works and i cant even connect to the internet from my desktop computer, without using usb.
I think it might have something to do with using a usb connection to my modem, but Ive tried connection through Ethernet and nothing works.

Basically i just need to know how to connect my internet connection to my router, so then i can connect my router to both my laptops. I know its possible and i have all the equipment, because two days ago everything was working perfectly. The only changes i have made since everything thing was working, is that Ive reset my router and reinstalled my usb modem.
I really want this all sorted out asap, and i don't want to have to pay another £30 ($60), so if anyone could help i would be really grateful. Like i said i am really stupid with all this stuff and i shouldn't have messed with it in the first place.
I will do my best to answer any questions and give any information you need in order to help me out, and i will be logged in all day as i really want this fixed.

please help.

When you say "RESET", do you mean pulling out the power cable and plugging it back in, or do you mean you hit the reset button on the back of the router. If you unpluged the power cable and replugged it back in you should be fine. If you hit the reset button, you wipped out all the settings your techie put on the router. If you use a cable modem you shouldnt have any trouble, but if you use DSL, you need to put in the username and password into your router. Besides that you are correct in putting the cable modems cat5E cable into the internet port, and the rest will go into the other ports. You shouldnt have any problems unless you have DSL

take out the usb from the modem and put back in the Cat5 Cable (ethernet) into the router and the ethernet port on the back of the pc. Run the router setup prog to detect the network settings before plugging in the router. then plug the cat5 cable from the back of the pc into the modem port of the router and plug another cat5 cable from the pc into one of the other ports on the router. continue the setup of the rouer, it should take you through connecting to the internet part and also security, make sure all devices using the router are set to detect IP address automatically throught the tcp/ip properties found in the network connections properties.

hope this helps.

This post has been edited by sleath: 13 January 2008 - 07:31 PM